ABOUT KEY RESEARCH AREAS

In order to cover a multi-disciplinary research field, each faculty has created Key Research Areas, which is narrowed down into specific Research Group and targeted Research Grants. This is to ensure ample coverage for research opportunities.

RESEARCH GROUPS

DATA SCIENCE

Overview

Information, systems, and communications security have become a central issue in our society. Interaction between people's personal devices (far beyond just phones and computers) and the rest of the connected world is nearly continuous; and with the advent of the Internet Of Things its scope will only grow.

The cyber security research group at Taylors University operates within that context of finding new and innovative approaches to dealing with cyber breaches. All members bring a particular technological emphasis - the analysis of particular classes of security problems or their solutions - but are fully aware that it all fits within a wider context of people using systems and communicating data in secure and insecure ways, and how external pressures beyond the mere technology impact on that.

The topic of computer security then naturally widens to include topics like privacy, cybercrime, and ethics and law relating to computing, as well as bringing in aspects of psychology, sociology and economics. The group focus has been in the following areas-Network Security, Intrusion Detection and Wireless Security, Penetration Testing and Vulnerability Assessment, Modeling and Simulation, Cyber Prediction System, Formal Systems, Threat Assessment and Risk Management.

The Big Data Research Group focuses development and application on Big Data technology, drawing on the best scientific traditions in Computer Science, Medicine, Bio-sciences, Engineering and Business. The Taylor’s Big Data Group supports collaboration and knowledge transfer in this growing field. Hence, our team members work collaboratively with the research community and industry. Our research involves modeling, analyzing, and simulating dynamic systems characterized by complex logic and uncertain behaviours.

The Cloud Computing and IoT (CCIT) research group will examine new trends and concepts for the management of cloud systems to provide intelligent solutions for high throughput and computational problems utilizing large-scale data in the cloud environment. The research group will investigate open research issues in turning a true “Internet of Things” into reality, an Internet where low-resource nodes (“things”, “constrained nodes”) can communicate among themselves and with the wider Internet in order to partake in innovation..

The rapid growth of Asian cities presents many issues to their inhabitants as cities expand beyond their comfortable limits and authorities play catch up. Given the unique composition of people, culture, heritage and belief systems in Asia, adoption of models built largely upon research in western developed nations may not provide viable solutions to many of the unique problems arising in Asia.

The aim of the research group is to employ a multi-disciplinary approach to identify the key factors likely to contribute to impending crisis in rapidly growing Asian cities. This entails developing new knowledge and understanding of Asia-centric problems and proposing solutions to overcome current problems or avert potential dysfunction.

The research programmes conducted by the Group endeavour to supply information and propose solutions that can be used by policy makers, city planners and urban designers, in planning, designing and maintaining Asian cities facing a plethora of environmental, economic, health and social problems both currently and in the future.

MATERIALS, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, AND SIMULATION RESEARCH GROUP (MAMS)

Overview

As one of the focus areas under Industry 4.0, 3D printing and additive manufacturing revolutionize the way that goods are created in the coming years. This research group is aiming at novel approaches in manufacturing of products that can support a sustainable development for the humankind. The area is identified as one of the niche areas for Taylor’s School of Engineering and supported by the university through the Flagship Research Project fund.

The research group is working on liveability and safety of Asian cities. One of the projects aims at providing a quiet indoor environment using sound absorbers made of natural fibers. Natural fibers are vastly available as agricultural waste in tropical countries such as Malaysia. Research has shown that these fibers can be used in acoustic absorption panels. Carbon Nano Tube (CNT) has excellent mechanical and thermal property and it is found that CNT arrays, in some cases, may provide better acoustic absorption than conventional porous materials of equivalent thickness and mass. Fibers will be mixed with CNT in different ways and their acoustical and microbial activities are evaluated. The expected outcome of this section is a natural fiber composite that has excellent acoustic absorption coefficient throughout the frequency spectrum, and can be used safely in a humid environment at a reasonable price.

VALUE ENABLED RESEARCH THROUGH INNOVATIONS CATALYSED FOR LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY (VERTICALS)

Overview

The UN sustainable development goals addressing the pressing challenges including poverty, inequality, climate, erratic climatic variations, degradation of natural resources, prosperity of people with prevailing justice to live in peace is targeted to be achieved by 2030. A number of interconnected devices, communication network, sensing and instrumenting the critical data, handling of data is going to be part of any engineering solutions within the challenge. Knowing the role of sustainable player within the academic and research enterprise Taylor’s School of Engineering align the high impact research thrust in addressing those within the engineering education through vertically blended approach where the technology and data as catalyse for long term sustainable solution.

The research group is working on the verticals that imbibe long term technological solutions towards clean energy, responsible consumption and productions, sustainable cities and communities.

Unit Objectives:

To cater holistic sustainability research solutions through innovations

To develop niche research thrust that support sustainability in the long run

The new era of Industry 4.0 (IR4.0) requires multi-disciplinary roles across cultures and countries demanding different knowledge and skills to adopt to the emerging complex industry interconnectedness setting – humans, machines, and internet of things (IOT). The engineering education through the outcome-based education (OBE) framework has a very important role in fulfilling this need. The Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) offering engineering programmes should provide adequate facilities and opportunities for students to maximise their learning potential towards acquiring the intended skills set to be job ready upon graduation.

This research group is focused research areas and collaboration activities such as teaching, learning, and assessment pedagogies, research collaboration, and consulting activities on engineering education, and project-based learning pedagogies among others.

Unit Objectives:

To provide training on various pedagogies that support teaching and learning for the Millennials

To provide support training on various design thinking strategies for engineering projects

Unit Developmental Areas and Focus

Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Pedagogies

Local and International Research Collaborations on Engineering Education

The Taylor's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) Research Group is an interdisciplinary academic and research group within the School of Engineering at Taylor's University. Founded in 2018, the TUAV Research Group is a prime unmanned systems incubator that fosters collaboration between the academic staff, the students, and the industry. The group focuses on fundamental research in UAV control systems, automations, machine vision and machine learning.

As one of the focus areas under the Industry 4.0, the research group is working on both fundamental and research of UAV and its practical applications. Partnering with various major industries, the group works on projects that are strongly applied to the industry's needs. There are several on-going projects at the moment. One of the projects provides a fully autonomous UAV System for surveillance purpose, where video captured by the airborne UAV will be downloaded live to a ground staion, while the UAV navigates through a pre-defined flight path on its own. Another project sees the development of light weight vision simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm to be used on-board of the UAV, such that the UAV is able to penetrate through foliage environment. In most of the project, the group seek a balance in developing cost and the performance of the UAV in the research.

Unit Objectives

To develop autonomous aerial vehicles for various applications both underwater and sky based systems

To provide support solutions to the industry players through consultancy

Technological advancement in the engineering field of energy efficiency and green (clean) energy are the key towards environmental protection, considering their crucial impact globally and the depletion as well as environmental issues caused by the traditional fossil fuels. Thereby, alternative and more sustainable methods to harvest and enhance energy production whilst at the same time treat environmental wastes are direly sought after around the globe.

The focus of this research group is on the development of sustainable energy aiming for a greener environment that includes efficient technologies for CO2 capture, making solar energy economical and sustainable, utilization of biomass for energy generation and waste minimization, improving lubrication technologies by producing novel blend lubricants that are biodegradable and cost effective, utilization of greener solvents for waste rubber devulcanisation process and etc. These areas are identified as some of the niche areas for Taylor’s School of Engineering and supported by the university through the Flagship Research Project fund, SOE funding and Taylor’s research grant scheme (TRGS).

A global perspective provides a new sustainability-oriented business strategic for real estate development which emphasis on integrating sustainability principles into practical decision making and marketing. This group of research team aims to provide research and consultancy to real estate corporates by meeting the needs of the present industrial trend, without compromising the ability of future generations. The fundamental concept on suitability encompasses three dimensions, namely social, economic and environmental, which are accepted by all stakeholders as guiding principles for both public policy making and corporate strategies. Under the scope of architecture and building, the focus of this group centered on the interactions between nature and technology in providing ‘Sustainable Design and Technology’ research particularly Systems, Building Construction, Construction Law and Procurement, Facility and Project Management, Ecology and Green Architecture, Building Information Modelling (BIM), User-orientated Architecture, Access for the Disabled (OKU), and Business Management and Corporate Strategy.

Design as Future-Making offers emergent models of design that are much needed today. This is especially critical now that virtually every object, place, and phenomenon is understood to exist in an ecology of forces and counterforces. This area explores how we’re building possible futures through our everyday activities of talking, researching, curating, designing, and teaching – how can we intervene in this process through media inventions to build more flexible, accessible and sensible futures?

The research group working on exploring creative and transgressive approaches to thinking about scientific and humanistic inquiry practices. It focuses and promotes the transformative design values where design/designer researchers become transformers who generate novel solutions through digital media that contribute to a more flexible world. The outcome of this area encompasses academic research and creative outputs.

The question of design culture and practices is seemingly absent from the debate on contemporary design and especially from emerging design; a problem-based, solution-oriented design. The defining characteristics of which is not the products, services and communicative artefacts it produced, but the knowledge, value, vision and qualities criteria that emerge from the table of conversations occuring during design activities as well as the tools and methods it uses.

The are is identified as one of the diversify focus in design resarch at The Design School where design/ designing can be a dynamic process with transformative sense, that is enabling and even emancipatory. The research group works between theoretical reflection on the nature of design and case studies of design culture and practices, and from research-based perspectives to the experience-based perspectives of design insiders. The outcome of this are encompasses academic research and creative outputs.

As social innovation and on the basis of dialogue and participation, social design strives for a new networking of the individual, civil society, government, and the economy. Social design thus presents a long-overdue study ranging from tracing the historical roots and foundations of social design, new infrastructures and today's theoretical discourse as well as future trends of living by their inhabitants.

The area is identified as the new lines of social insistence in the world of design; that designers/ design researchers work to objectives of sustainability, access, safety to bring about social good or social change. The research group works on recognizing the value of design as a means of generating change in the way we do things and what do we want to become. The outcome of this area encompassess academic research and creative outputs.

The rapid modernization of Asia in general and Malaysia in particular in the 21st century has increased the importance of celebrating a community’s identity and culture in the face of rapid physical and social change. By appreciating that memory (and therefore history) contributes to culture and identity (and therefore heritage), the aim of this research group is to study the different factors that contribute to Asia’s architectural and social heritage, including the intangible elements that allow these plural identities to be appreciated as a ‘living heritage’. This research group employs a multi-disciplinary approach to identify key elements that contribute towards the creation of heritage in ASEAN in particular. This includes a deep appreciation of the role of tourism and the arts, minority cultures and social practices as well as architectural conservation, measured drawings and their associated methods of documentation. Projects under this group should identify communities, locations, ways of life, design and/or architectural typologies that are worthy of study in order to facilitate either their conservation for the benefit of future generations or to assist in their evolution to encourage the survival of multiple ‘ways of being’ in the face of increasingly globalizing forces during the 21st century.